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In your opinion, what is to blame for this terrible start to the season ? Is it down to the coaching staff, players or a mixture of both ? I'd be interested to hear.Can't see us turning it around and I also can't see Bath management doing anything to change the coaching team. Quins to likely tear us apart too.
For me I never liked the idea of Hooper being promoted from Captain to head coach and then director of rugby. It reeks of cronyism rather than appointing the best person from the job. It's also different to other clubs promoting from within. Usually those coaches have been around the setup for a while and earned their chance by working at a lower level for a while and are continuing to build on a successful coaching structure. Apart from the playoffs 2 years ago Bath have mixed results at best. Certainly they haven't looked like they have a strong coaching setup from which to build on or promote from within. Maybe if Hooper had ended up getting some good consistent results, but instead things have gone from bad to worse. It's almost like when Geordan Murphy took over Leicester. He was part of a coaching setup that was already failing and he couldn't turn it around. Same here, there are too many who have been involved in a failing structure and they don't look like turning it around. They need fresh blood from outside to change things.In your opinion, what is to blame for this terrible start to the season ? Is it down to the coaching staff, players or a mixture of both ? I'd be interested to hear.
I'd say the majority of the fault lies with the management. Bath as a club seem to get far less out of the players than other clubs / international sides manage. Our policy on signings is completely disjointed and we don't seem to sign players to compliment a play style or address gaps in certain positions, it seems to be random. There also doesn't seem to be a particular culture or ethos in the club, what even is Bath's style? We haven't built a specific way of playing over the years and the whole team looks like they lack structure or any idea of what they are doing.In your opinion, what is to blame for this terrible start to the season ? Is it down to the coaching staff, players or a mixture of both ? I'd be interested to hear.
Thank you for replying.I'd say the majority of the fault lies with the management. Bath as a club seem to get far less out of the players than other clubs / international sides manage. Our policy on signings is completely disjointed and we don't seem to sign players to compliment a play style or address gaps in certain positions, it seems to be random. There also doesn't seem to be a particular culture or ethos in the club, what even is Bath's style? We haven't built a specific way of playing over the years and the whole team looks like they lack structure or any idea of what they are doing.
The troubles we are facing this season are not new, it's the same problems we have had for years, they are just being highlighted even more ruthlessly now. We have always had the tendency to go full on headless chicken the second things go wrong and compound errors with more errors. Cipriani throwing the miracle pass that was intercepted when a move went wrong being a prime example. As one of the most experienced heads on the field he should be a steadying influence, even if he is new to the club. As it was, he made the situation even worse. There is no sense of leadership and why Ewels is captain when he is ineffectual as a player and captain is beyond me.
We have a coaching staff that are just way out of their depth and seems to lack any real toughness. I could believe the coaching team and management spend more time quaffing champagne than being outside in the rain trying to get every last bit of performance out of the players. Everyone who leaves the club speaks of a toxic and unprofessional environment and almost without exception all go on to play better at other clubs. On the flip side Bath have not taken in underperforming players and made them good. It seems there is a serious issue with the culture at the club and nobody is willing to address it. It's a rich boys plaything and is being treated as such.
I'd say we have plenty of individually talented players but I get no sense of team cohesion, pride or morale. It's like everyone is there because they get paid for it and that's it. None of the players seem to have any love for the game whilst playing for Bath. Those that do tend to leave.
Thank you for replying.
That all makes perfect sense to me.
Sad to see how bad things have got for you, Bath always used to be a tough team to play, particularly in the nineties.
Is there a quick fire solution to this ?
That never happenedFor me I never liked the idea of Hooper being promoted from Captain to head coach
Any truth in the Steve Diamond to Bath rumours?
we talked about his prospects of getting back into the game. Bath has been the most recent one but there have been some others. San Diego was one, and he has got prospective backers (ready) to take over clubs who potentially come into some kind of financial trouble on the back of the Covid.
In a way I don't want Bath to beat Quins. I get the feeling any excuse to paper over the gaping cracks in Bath will be exploited and beating Quins will be used as a way to say everything is fine and dandy. Though it saddens me to say it, even the current situation still isn't enough to overcome the inertia in Bath's management, we really need to be absolutely awful for anything to change. In that sense I'd rather take the pain now in the hopes it will lead to positive change.Maybe. On the other hand, if you're Saracens, now is a good time to press your advantage while your opponents are weakened.
Quins vs. Bath is a curious one. I think a lot will depend on the first quarter. If Quins score early, I could definitely see the Bath players thinking 'here we go again' and it being another very bad day for them. However, what better place to make a statement than away to the reigning champions? If Bath come in to it with the right mindset, they have more than enough good players to trouble us. Particularly if we are complacent.
Losing at Sale hopefully knocked any complacency out of us though.